Hi, all:
I bring you a very seasonal novel, one I’ve picked up from Rosie’s book review team list, although I have read and enjoyed other books by the same author before.
Oh, and I’m adding some links at the end of the post so you can see some of the things Sants 3 Ràdio (the local radio station where I volunteer) and I have been busy with over the holidays.
My Greek Island Christmas (Holiday Reading Selection) by Effrosyni Moschoudi
Two die-hard cynics when it comes to love meet on a small family farm on the alluring Greek island of Santorini, and the magic of Christmas goes to work.
Cathy Roussos, a Greek-American single mom, swore off love many years ago after a painful breakup. Her nine-year-old son, the energetic but rather shy Leo, is everything she lives for. When she takes a temp job as a housekeeper for the Christmas season at a small family farm on the island of Santorini, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with the standoffish son of the owner.
Alex Rallis, a veterinarian living in Athens, is a sworn bachelor. As Christmas draws near, he is offered an ideal job abroad. Before taking it, he has to sell the family farm in Santorini and find a new place for his elderly father. The last place Alex wants to be at Christmas is the farm that holds painful memories, but he can’t avoid it. His father will only agree to sell the farm and move out if Alex spends one last Christmas with him there. It seems the old man has a ploy in mind, and a string of adorable locals have their parts to play, too. Next thing you know, Christmas cheer is shared all around, old sad tales are retold in different ways, and romantic love swirls through the air deliciously, like the aromatic steam of hot chocolate.
Can these two wounded souls find happiness together? They say Christmas holds its own magic, and Santorini can be just as enchanting. Even in the midst of winter, its allure remains—enough to give anyone a chance to heal and open up their heart.
About the author
Effrosyni Moschoudi was born and raised in Athens, Greece. She writes books for the romantic at heart, and for all readers around the world, who love her country and its vast culture.
Her stories are set in alluring locations around Greece and tend to feature supernatural creatures such as angels, ghosts or witches, as she believes our world is magical and not as mundane as we think.
She writes clean and sweet romances that are peppered with humour and a touch of family drama, offering the reader an emotional rollercoaster ride with perfect happily-ever-after endings.
Effrosyni lives in a quaint seaside town near Athens with a British husband, two mischievous cats, and a vast collection of books. Her little town is heavenly enough, yet her mind forever drifts to her beloved island of Corfu.
The Ebb, her new adult beach romance that was inspired by her summers in Corfu in the 1980s, was a Q-Finalist for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards in 2014. Her debut novel, The Necklace of Goddess Athena, won a silver medal in the 2017 book awards of Readers’ Favorite. Her supernatural suspense novella, The Boy on the Bridge, was a Top 10 winner of the “50 Best Indie Books” awards of Readfreely in 2021.
Effrosyni’s books are Amazon bestsellers, having hit #1 several times, and are available mainly in kindle and paperback format.
What others say about Effrosyni’s books:
“Effrosyni layers her words on the page like music.” ~USA Today bestselling author Jackie Weger
“Very few writers have such a gift for realism.” ~Kelly Smith Reviews
“I was glued to the pages by the author’s vivid descriptions and her beautiful, almost poetic way of writing.” ~Angel Sefer, author of The Greek Isles series
“Moschoudi’s writing is impressive; sweet and delicate yet powerful, like a punch rolled up in silk.” ~Nicholas Rossis, author of The Pearseus sci-fi series
Visit her website, Effrosyniwrites, for her travel guide to Corfu, delicious Greek recipes, and a plethora of blog posts about her life in Greece.
You are welcome to join her bimonthly newsletter for free books in every issue. You may also contact her via her website or her favorite social medium, Facebook, with any comments or just to say hi. She loves to hear from her readers!
My review:
I write this review as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team (author, check here if you are interested in getting your book reviewed) and thank her and the author for this opportunity.
I have read several novels by Moschoudi, and they are sure to be favourites among the fans of romantic novels, especially those who like to travel thanks to the stories, as they tend to be set in wonderful holiday locations. Here, the reluctant couple meet in Santorini, and although it is winter, the island is depicted as a paradise, as enjoyable in Christmas as it is in the summer, only cosier, with fewer tourists and with the added magic of the season to look forward to.
We meet Cathy, who is travelling with her young son Leo, as she is about to take up a brief assignment as the housekeeper for the Christmas holidays at a Santorini farm. She is half-Greek and half-American, but had been living in Athens when the story starts. She plans to go back to the USA to live with her parents and her son after Christmas. A man mistakenly takes her suitcase at the airport, and there is a nasty misunderstanding before things are cleared out. To her surprise, she discovers that the stranger who took her suitcase, Alex, is the son of the man she is supposed to be keeping house for, and they are all going to be living under the same roof.
Most readers will imagine that, despite the inauspicious beginnings, Alex and Cathy will end up finding each other. I won’t confirm or deny that, but one of the many strong points of the story is the way the two characters seem to be total opposites to begin with, but they have more in common than they imagine, as we discover as the story progresses. Both of them are traumatised, both of them have suffered betrayals and feel abandoned, have issues of trust, and find it difficult to confide in others. Alex has a difficult relationship with his father, whom he hadn’t visited for years, and the complex story behind that is slowly revealed. There are secrets, lies, and even more misunderstandings. There are also third parties involved, future plans, and life in general, which might have other plans for them both.
Added to the central romance, there are some wonderful secondary characters (Mr. Stavros, the father; Mrs. Marianna, a friend of the family and owner of the bakery; Mr. Nikos, a friend and colleague of Mr. Stavros; Leo, Cathy’s son, who is a wonderful child and loves the farm animals and any other animals and people in need of help, and more) and all of them are changed by the experience. Traditional families might not always work as they should, but found and chosen families can bring unexpected happiness to people who have given up hope.
For readers looking forward to discovering new things about Greece through this novel, there is also plenty of Greek food, all of which sounds delicious. I am not sure this book shouldn’t come with a warning, because it is impossible to read it and not feel hungry and eager to try many of the wonderful dishes mentioned.
The story is written in the third person, with Cathy as the main narrator of the story, and we see things mostly from her point of view, although there are also some scenes from Alex’s and Leo’s perspectives, and that gives us a better understanding of the characters and how they truly feel. But I must warn readers to prepare their handkerchiefs, as Moschoudi has written a very moving story, and it is impossible not to grow fond of the main characters and feel for and with them by the end.
This is a great read for this time of the year, especially for readers who miss a bit of sun and enjoy sofa-travelling, those who prefer a romance where the protagonists are grown-ups with emotional baggage, lovers of Greek food, and anybody looking for a different kind of Christmas story in a glorious setting and with a big heart.
Thanks to Rosie and her team for their support, to the author for another enjoyable story, and to all of you for reading, commenting, liking, and sharing, and before you go, as I promised…
Here you can see the party Sants 3 Ràdio organises every year on New Year’s Eve:
Here, and in the whole of Spain, it’s common to celebrate the Epiphany, when the Three Wise Men (the Kings of Orient here) visited baby Jesus with gifts. The children write letters to the king of their choice, asking him for presents. Several organisations of the neighbourhood, with the support of the town hall, create what they call a Royal Encampment, so the children can visit, see the Kings, and give them their letters. My mother and I helped decorate the place, and we also dressed up for the event itself. (I played one of the royal pages, and I didn’t mind the feather on my cap, although it isn’t exactly a cap, but…)
And here, we also participate in a parade the day before Epiphany (6th of January):
Just Olga 